Return of the California Condor

Full decoding of California California, published in 2021, also revealed valuable information about the history of bird evolution and prehistoric abundance. Millions of years ago, it was a view with an effective population of 10,000 to 100,000 people. Its decrease began about 40,000 years ago during the last ice age, and then was aggravated by human activity. Despite this, says Steiner, the species retains genetic variability similar to birds that are not under threat of disappearance.

The problem with lead

Despite these great efforts and an updated understanding of the species, the threat to condor remain.

In the 1980s, when the efforts to monitor the last condors in the wild intensified, an indicative event occurred: after 15 of them died, four were naked, and the cause of the death of three of them was shown that poisoning with lead.

Although these cathartforms are from Greek CathartThat is, “those who are pure” – usually do not hunt hunters, their disposal of nature makes them indirect victims of hunters who kill them not by their influence, but thanks to their composition. Finding the flesh of dead animals, the condors swallow fragments of lead ammunition, which remain built -in in carcasses.

Once inside the body, lead, which accumulates over time, acts as neurotoxin, which affects the nervous, digestive and reproductive systems. Among the most destructive effects – the paralysis of the crop, the organ in which the condors store food before digesting it; This prevents them from feeding and causes hunger. Lead also interferes with the production of red blood cells, causing anemia and gradually weakening the bird, and damages the nervous system, causing cramps, blindness and death.

The efforts in the United States to mitigate the threat lead to the condorys were extensive. Since the 1970s, several strategies have been implemented, such as providing food for condors, a campaign to teach hunters about the influence of the use of lead bullet on the wild, and programs showing visitors to preserve how important the birds are for the ecosystem. Government rules also played a role such as the law on the preservation of Ridley Condor 2007, which obliges the use of ammunition without lead to hunt large games within the condor range in California. However, these efforts were not enough.